Love is a Dangerous Plaything
by Maya Tamika
Summary: Arthur Kirkland wanted Alfred F. Jones. But he didn't realise the consequences of playing with love. USUK Rated for mild adult themes and situations.


Arthur Kirkland _wanted_ Alfred F. Jones. Oh, how he wanted that beautiful American in his bed, in his pants, in _him_. So, he locked himself away. For weeks he spoke to no one. Love is a dangerous plaything and Arthur needed time and silence.

Finally, it was ready. The project he had been labouring over was complete. He had tested it, and tested it, then tested it again, and he was positive that it was finally perfect.

He ignored the sarcastic comments and snide remarks thrown at him from all sides as the passed his colleagues in the halls. Even the students stopped to snicker at his thin frame and pale face and whisper, "look at professor Kirkland!" It irked him, but he ignored them all. He had better things to do.

First on his list was finding the American. Not too hard. A simple spell was all it took to complete that one. Next, he had to get to America. Again, simple. A wave of a wand and a few choice words and he was there.

Arthur stood outside the coffee shop, sharing at Alfred through the window. He was drinking coffee and laughing with his brother Matthew. Arthur caressed the small vial he was harbouring in his jacket pocket, then entered the coffee shop.

"Well, fancy seeing you here!" Arthur smiled charmingly, his statement drawing the attention of Alfred and Matthew.

"Artie?" Alfred asked, then he smiled, "well, what are the odds? Nice to see you again! This is my brother Matthew. Mattie, this is Arthur. The guy I told you about, remember?"

Matthew smiled shyly, "the man you met during Study Abroad in England, right? Yes, I remember."

"A pleasure to meet you, Matthew," Arthur said politely, "Alfred told me a lot about you."

"So, Artie, what-cha doin' in America?" Alfred asked, gesturing to the empty sea at their table.

Arthur sat, "tourism, mostly."

"So, what do you think? Gimme the good, the bad and the ugly," Alfred said with a smile.

The good? There wasn't much to say in that category. Arthur hated most everything that wasn't in Europe. Hell, he even hated most of Europe.

The bad? Arthur had plenty he could tell the American about America, but he wasn't about to do so.

The ugly? He had made a list before he even left England…

But Arthur refrained from giving his true opinion and instead smiled, "what's to say? I'm glad I got to see you again."

"I'm glad you came, too," Alfred's smile dazzled the lovesick mage.

Arthur didn't quite remember when, but at some point, he and the American had been left alone. And he wasn't quite sure how, but at some point, he managed to empty the contents of the vial into Alfred's drink. And he couldn't quite say why, but he didn't recall returning to Alfred's apartment. But when he woke up the next morning naked, sticky, and sore-assed next to Alfred, he was absolutely positive that he had finally gotten Alfred F. Jones. And by the look on Alfred's face when he woke up next to Arthur, last night had been amazing.

So Arthur finally had what he wanted. Alfred was his. Alfred was, quite literally, under his spell.

And as it always does in the magical community, word travelled fast.

Arthur Kirkland quickly became famous for being the first mage to battle love and win. People would come to him, asking for the secret to his love potion, but Arthur knew better. He refused to tell. Love is a dangerous plaything.

Of course, all the attention meant that keeping his magic a secret from Alfred became impossible, but in Alfred's eyes, the Englishman was perfect anyway. Arthur could have committed murder, genocide, a holocaust, and Alfred wouldn't have minded.

And, for a while, it was mutual. But after about six months, Arthur became unhappy. He began to notice something. He still loved Alfred wholeheartedly, but Alfred didn't love him. Alfred was under the influence of a potion and that wasn't real love. Arthur thought and debated with himself for weeks, trying to find the solution. He revised his love potion, but nothing changed. Alfred had almost become obsessive, annoying. His wholehearted devotion to Arthur was nothing but a farce, and Arthur hated that.

So, as much as it broke Arthur's heart, he let Alfred go.

He removed the effects of the potion.

He stared at Alfred's back, tears in his eyes, as Alfred walked away.

Alfred didn't even remember.

The months they had spent together…Alfred might as well have been comatose for the entirety of it.

So Arthur locked himself away again. Again, he slaved over bubbling beakers and simmering solutions, wallowing in his own grief and self-loathing. Again, whispers and rumours flew when he finally emerged.

People expected another miracle. They wanted another perfect potion from the genius mage: Arthur Kirkland.

A crowd followed behind Arthur as he strode, vial in hand, into the college courtyard. With his foot, he drew a circle and a star in the dirt. He etched a few runes around it. The crowd stood back and murmured as they watched, wondering what he could possibly be doing. When he was finished with his drawings, he stood in the centre and chanted his spell. The runes began to morph and move and the circle and star began to glow.

Arthur finished his chant and, to the horror of everyone watching, downed the potion, promptly collapsing on the ground.

A scream echoed through the courtyard. One man ran forward, trying to reach Arthur's limp body, but there was a bright flash of light and when it faded, Arthur was gone. So was the vial. So were the mark and the runes he had drawn on the ground.

People had expected another Arthur Kirkland miracle. And they got one, but in the form of a disaster.

Love is a dangerous plaything. And Arthur had realised how stupid he was for believing he could tame it.

* * *

**Hi, guys!**

**DON'T KILL ME FOR NOT UPLOADING ANYTHING IN SO LONG!**

**If you care, we're moving, so I've been busy. I could give more excuses, but... PM me for details if you really want to know, but I doubt any of you do. Except, of course, for those of you who have actually PM'd me for details...I would assume you guys care at least a little.**

**Anyway, I want to ask a question. I am fully capable of turning this into the prologue of a multi-chapter story that will have a happy ending and it won't lose any of it's current charm, but I want to know your opinion. Are you guys suckers for happy endings (I am) or not? Because if you are, I'll start updating this and add the rest of the story. It wouldn't be super long, but I still have to write it, so it'll be a few months before it's complete (it'd take less time, but we're still in the process of moving), or do you want to leave this with a sad ending that makes you wonder what happened to poor, depressed, Arthur?**

**I'm cool with either, so pop me a review (or PM) and let me know!**

**In other news, I will be updating more soon, I promise. I have some oneshots finished that I just need to type up (and re-complete because my mom threw away the paper that the ending of one was written on) and post them, so that should happen soon now that I have my own laptop. They're a whole slew of pairings, too, so, yeah...lots of variety.**

**OK, I think that's about it. I hope you enjoyed this sad-ish little story. I'm really bad at writing sad things, though, especially sad endings, so if any of you are good at it, I'd like to know how to bring a tear to a reader's eye from this, so feedback is AWESOME! Almost as awesome as Prussia (but we all know it can't be as awesome as Prussia. It can only be almost as awesome).**

**...And I'm rambling. But it just wouldn't be my A/N if I didn't! So, I'll see you guys next time! :3**

_**~Maya**_

**Edit: I reuploaded this about half an hour after the original upload. The original wasn't spell-checked. Oops.**_  
_

**And I forgot to mention: I'm working on some multi-chapter stories that are taking up a portion of my time, so that'll slow uploads for a while. But doing it this way, I'll be able to have regular uploads. Yay!**

_**~Maya**_


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